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Videoclip of the Month!!!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Ghostxship - Cold Truth

Ghostxship - Cold Truth

Ghostxship is a hardcore punk band from the home of hardcore punk, New York City in the USA. There is just something about New York City hardcore which makes it stand out from the rest of the world. It’s probably the sheer middle finger in your face kind of attitude which entices the listener to hear more. There just seems to be a real sense of freedom when listening to albums like this one, it just gives you so much energy when listening this. It’s the kind of thing that would make someone want to break out into screamo and mosh. Can these guys stand up with their counterparts? Or will they break away?

The first thing to mention about this band is how raw they are. When I mean raw, I don’t mean raw black style where the recording quality isn’t any good. There is just a sense of pure hardcore here, they haven’t seemed to mix their sound with anything from any other metal/hardcore subgenre. Its fast paced, highly energetic and has the attitude of hardcore. Its these three things that makes NYC hardcore so popular all over the world. Its bands like this that reminds us of the history of the hardcore punk scene in NYC and we should praise them for doing so. After all, it is a dying trend. There is something about the distortions of the guitars and style of drumming which give these guys their raw feeling, and I think it suites their music quite well, quite well indeed.

There is something that is a must with hardcore and it is attitude. Now we all know that the attitude that comes out of NYC is famous all over the world. Its very clear that these guys have been influenced by this in some form or another because they have adopted the sound into their music. It also clear that even before you read the lyrical themes of this album, you already know that these guys mean business. Hardcore business, these guys are really in your face, but once you read the lyrics it’s not all just the middle finger. Their lyrical themes are based around the straight edge lifestyle which is all about staying out of trouble, not doing drugs, ect… so in a way, these guys are essentially teaching us life lessons while we listen to this album. This seems legit.

Like I’ve mentioned before, this is NYC hardcore at its purest form. I don’t think you could possibly get hardcore more pure than these guys, they essentially define the whole genre. The music isn’t too melodic so it sounds like metalcore and not too br00tal so it sounds like deathcore. Also they have excluded clean vocals and melodic interludes from their sound, which is excellent because it keeps the momentum of their music rolling. But these guys also have a thrashy feel to their music, which is something that all NYC hardcore bands have in their sound. This just adds the extra touch of lawlessness and attitude to their music which is something fans would love.

I think the best part about this hardcore album would have to be the fact that these guys have managed to create a linear sound without it being repetitive (if that makes sense). There is just something about the way that they construct their tracks that makes them all sound similar, but give you a whole new listening experience. I think this is because of the forward momentum that keeps pushing the music along, which leaves almost no time for them to throw in other ideas which they will probably run out of anyway. Also, since that these guys are trying to have that pure hardcore sound, it doesn’t seem like a burden if they have little room for experimentation.

Overall, this is quite a decent album, these guys could become hugely popular in the near future and could ultimately bring back the pure hardcore to the main stage. Bands such as Winds of Plague have failed miserably at doing this so I think it could be time for a change. This album has everything a good NYC hardcore band has; attitude, a thrashy feel and high energy. I think the only let down for this album would be the fact that they haven’t really pushed any boundaries because no matter how much people dress it up, when it comes down to it, they are just imitating all the previous bands who built the genre. I recommend this to fans of pure hardcore, I wouldn’t really recommend this to anyone who is into melodic hardcore or melodic metalcore, it might not sit well with them. Overall I think that this is still quite a respectable album that is worth a go. I give Ghostxship’s Cold Truth a 15/20.